Some Strange Type of Peculiar Love

The Menagerie

Fiona's POV

When we got to the top all we saw was a field with a little house on top of a bunch of stacked bricks and a barn.
"Oh no! This loop must have been already raided!" Claire coughed at the end of her sentence and nearly collapsed. I rushed to her side and felt her head, she was burning up. Bronwyn came and picked her up.
"Miss Bloom, I'm afraid she's coming ill." Emma walked over and frowned. Miss Peregrine squawked and tried to fly onto my shoulder suddenly terribly afraid. I saw a man, he was raggedy and messy. He kind of looked like me. His teeth stretched out and he looked like he was going to bite. Emma ran forward hands ablaze and was about to burn him into disfigurement when we heard a voice.
"Grunt! Leave them be!" I turned to see a dog with a pipe and goggles like Hugh's. Was the dog talking?
"Oh my God, you talk?" Asked Jake.
"Um yes?" The dog said sheepishly.
"I do too!" A horse with no front legs said. Claire was too dazed to be exited, but Olive wasn't, she squealed and kissed the dog on his head, she was too young to be surprised.
"Oh Bronwyn can we keep him and his friend? Oh pleaseeeeeee?"
The dog cleared his throat.
"I'm not something to 'have' I am Addison, pleased to meet you. I am the seventh pup of the seventh litter of a illustrious bloodline . I'm also a boxer. My friend here is Diedre, she's an emuraffe." Olive looked disappointed and Addison softened his face.
"But I would've very lucky to be had by you."
"Now, may I ask why you're here?" Diedre said.
So Emma told him the whole story, the bomb, the wights, the hollows, and the gypsies, it almost seemed unbelievable.
"Your ymbryne was stolen?"
"Oh I'm so very sorry." Grunt well, grunted and nodded.
"But..." Emma sang. Bronwyn pulled her out of her coat and showed her to the animals. "We stole her back!" She said proudly.
"But she's not able to change back!" Cried Horace.
"Oh? Is she shy? Miss Wren has her study which I'm sure she wouldn't mind letting you change in."
Emma shook her head, "she hurt her wing, she's stuck."
"Can your ymbryne help her?"
Addison clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"I'm afraid she's not here."
"But who's here to set your loop?"
"I do."
"But you're a dog!" Hugh yelled.
Addison looked offended and Hugh shrunk back.
"You must be famished!" Deidre said sheepishly trying to keep the peace. I picked up Claire and and followed Deidre, I was too hungry to be wary.

Sometime later Deidre and Addison set down loaves of bread with jam and hard boiled eggs, I was eating too fast to even notice my tea getting cold. Claire didn't touch a thing and just leaned on my leg. The midday sun was staring to dip behind the clouds.
"Is she picky? We could make her something else." Addison offered nodding towards Claire.
"She appears to be ill." Bronwyn patted her head and pulled back a moment later.
"Her fever hasn't broken yet."
"We have a remedy we can give her, although I must say it does taste foul."
Claire fussed but Emma nodded her head quietly.
"My mom used to make me chicken soup." Jake suggested. The very thought of that made the chickens freak and run away.
"He's just kidding!" Called Addison, "there's no such thing as chicken soup!" Addison glared at Jake and he sank into Emma. Addison walked towards the barn, which seemed to have running water. Olive started to look scared, which Deidre noticed immediately.
"It's ok little one, I'll fetch some blankets." Deidre pushed Olive's tiara back with her long black tongue, Olive squealed and giggled.
"I'll help you!" While they were walking away I could hear Olive sharpshooting question after question before she could even answer. Then heard an explosion and grabbed Hugh, who was dozing off behind me. Addison was back with the wooden bowl in his mouth.
"Don't be afraid! Those are just the chickens." His voice was muffled from the bowl.
"Where's their coop?"
He set down the bowl and regained his very impressive posture. "They kept blowing it up."
Emma's eyes got wide, I too, was shocked at such a unique peculiarity.
"No need to fear! They may lay bombs but never near people."
But the fact they laid bombs at all was enough for me to stay away, though it did make me miss Babbi and my chickens back in Ireland.
"What makes them explode?" Asked Jake.
"If you're too rough with them, although they do make a delicious scramble."
"How come we've never heard of peculiar animals?" Asked Horace. Deidre was back with Olive and let out a pitiful cry before stomping away leaving Olive with a mountain of blankets all alone.
"Was it something I said?"
"Yes, but it's not your fault. You see, just like you humans, we get hunted. But it's different."
"How so?" Enoch asked, his gruff demeanor subsiding with sympathy.
"How about I show you." Grunt shook his head and stared at Addison with pleading eyes as if to say please don't do this.
I opted to stay back with Claire to watch her, but I was secretly afraid about what he was going to show them. I turned to Claire and got her to start drinking her medicine.

When they came back I knew I made the right decision as Bronwyn's eyes were all puffy and all anyone could do was look at the ground, even Enoch.
"What was it?" I asked Hugh, but he just shook his head and stared.
"Did she take her medicine?" Bronwyn asked.
I nodded.
"Deidre and Grunt are making dinner now, I suggest you spend the night." We all nodded, but I was still stuffed from our meal two hours ago. Addison, Jake, and Emma took Miss Peregrine and walked towards her house. I got up to go for a walk and Hugh tagged along with me. We walked to the top of the hill and I flopped down to watch the sunset.
"Hugh?"
"Yes?"
"There is no way I can eat anymore without exploding like one of those eggs."
Hugh threw his head back and laughed.
"Armageddon eggs is what the dog called them, it sounds completely mad." I smiled and leaned against him.
"What did he tell you?"
His face got hard and he tightened his arms around me.
"A cemetery for peculiar animals, there were hundreds of them, just buried there like their lives meant nothing." He said bitterly, but he wasn't done. "They weren't even killed by hollows." I looked at him confused.
"It was normals, they tortured them."
I could feel him shaking with fear and rage.
"Don't worry," I said, "I won't ever let that happen to us."
Hugh laughed again. "That's supposed to me my job." I shrugged and nestled back into him.
"Hugh,"
"Yes?"
"Claire can't keep going, she's too sick."
"I know."
"She needs to stay here."
"I know."
"I think I need to stay with her."
Hugh sat up and spun me around to face him.
"Fee, you can't." His eyes were shiny with tears.
"We can't leave her behind, I'm expendable, I'll stay."
"You're not to me! If you're staying I am too!" I shook my head.
"You can't! What if they get captured again? They'll need you."
"But—" Hugh was cut off by Emma shouting for us to eat dinner.
"Hugh,"
"We'll talk after dinner." His tone was biting.
I tried to grab his hand but he pulled it away, he looked more hurt than mad.

3/5/21